TEN Products to Help Teach Your Kids About Money

It’s never too early to teach your kids important money concepts – including how to save, budget and spend money wisely. In fact, if we don’t teach our kids about money, someone else will and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take. According to previous studies, children as young as 2 or 3 years old can understand basic financial concepts (like saving & spending) and money habits are formed by age 7. WOW!

SO, how do you teach your kids about money? Not only by example, but according to Dave Ramsey, it also depends on your kids ages. For instance, you can teach a 2-year-old the names of coins, show a 4-year-old how to clip coupons at the grocery store, teach a 7-year-old how to spend his/her allowance, teach a 10-year-old how to do comparison shopping, and “help” a 16-year-old get a job and open a bank account. And, it’s never too late to talk about money… someday your kids will thank you.

If you’re needing a place to start, are looking for a fantastic gift idea, or just want to make learning about money FUN for your children, check out these TEN educational and highly rated products I love…

This piggy bank is a great way to teach your baby about putting money IN the piggy bank. Not only does this toy introduce concepts like counting, colors, Spanish and more, but it also includes musical responses and sing-along songs. There are also two different levels with a variety of developmentally appropriate songs, phrases and sounds – just slide the switch to choose the level for your child.

What child doesn’t love role-playing with money? This cash register encourages social skills, role play, math skills and features a solar calculator, a pretend credit card, 30 play bills in a variety of denominations and 40 plastic coins. The cash drawer really opens, and the buttons are specially designed to be easy for little hands to press. Great for endless hours of fun pretending and learning!

Packed with tools, resources, and step-by-step instructions for parents, Financial Peace Junior by Dave Ramsey will equip you to raise money-smart kids who know how to handle money. Through fun stories and activities, your kids will learn the values of working, giving, saving and spending.

It’s always fun to pretend you’re a grown-up! With this set, kids can fill out pretend checks (they’re actual size too!), make payments and calculate their balances as they learn about check writing. This set includes 25 checks, a check register, pen, calculator, deposit slips and instruction card.

This award-winning Moonjar moneybox is divided into Save, Spend and Share tins that allow kids to set practical goals with their money for each section. Also, each Moonjar Kit comes with a family guide with simple budgeting ideas and a passbook so kids can track their progress.

In this skill-building game, players race around the game board doing chores to earn their allowance and then save it or spend it on things they want. For instance, if a player washes the car they will earn $1.30, but if they forget their homework they will lose a turn! A fun way for kids to learn about money!

What a fun way that kids can learn the value of money! This play wallet includes 30 bills, 40 coins, pretend credit card and bank card. It features a zippered coin compartment and suggested activities.

Similar to The Allowance Game, this highly rated game also allows kids to earn money by landing on a square with a practical chore or entrepreneurial endeavor, such as setting the table, hosting a lemonade stand and more. This game also gives kids practice counting bills and exchanging money. Plus, there’s an additional incentive for kids to use critical thinking and coin combining skills.

Know an American Girl fan? In this book, girls will learn how to not only spend their cash, but also how to earn it. The quizzes, tips, and helpful quotes from other girls will make learning about money management easy and fun. Chapter topics include Making Money, Shopping, Saving Money and more.

Written by Mary for Hip2Save. Mary is a proud mom to 3 kids in Austin, TX, who thrives off running long distance, bargain shopping, warm weather, a yummy latte…and a little Candy Crush from time to time. She loves quality time with family & friends and sharing great deals with others.

HBee says:

These all sound wonderful. We home school, and one of the requirements for High School for my kids is to take Dave Ramsey’s ” Foundations in Personal Finance High School Edition”. We are just finishing up this with my Junior and I would highly recommend!

HBee says:

HBee says:

Hi There, I am just ending my 10th year of homeschooling! Make sure you are aware of the requirements in your area- I would look them up on the HSLDA website. They also have some tips on getting started. It has been a truly rewarding (a prayerful!) experience for me and I know my kids are happier for it!

JTCL says:

May N says:

Another homeschool family here. I love Easy Peasy Curriculum at allinonehomeschool.com. It’s easy to follow, student-guided and fun. Check it out. It takes my preschooler about 30 minutes a day and my 3rd grader about 2 hours a day.

SJ says:

Frecklelily says:

With all due respect, that “quack” has a name. It’s Dave. He is a highly respected and smart individual. Talk to ANYONE who has followed his program and you will see it WORKS. I have taken his High School Finance class with my (at the time) 16-year-old son. My son is now 18 and he is financially smarter then most adults. And guess what…he’s NOT IN DEBT. So you might have a difference in opinion on what Dave stands for, but to call him a “quack” shows how little you really know about his program.

Admittedly, I don’t really write checks a ton either anymore, but it’s nice to know how because there have been instances where I could only pay something with a check (like when my apartment leasing office’s website went down and I had to pay rent with a check). So it doesn’t hurt for the new generation to know it either.

Jessica says:

Honestly, it’s not super crucial they be “experts” at writing checks nowadays. I have written exactly 2 checks in the past 8 years. One for the down payment on our house and the other for a down payment on purchasing a new car at dealership.

Elizabeth says:

Mary (Stellar Sidekick) says:

Lucy says:

While these are good resources, I highly believe that the concept of money is a constant thing – not something we play with and then an hour later, we put it aside and not think about. I personally didn’t use any of these….I went with the FREE approach and explained to my kids (currently, ages 5 and 3) that whenever people (grandparents) send them money we have to take it to the bank. The bank keeps their money safe and the only time we go to the bank to get money out is when we have to buy something special and/or when they go to school when they are 18. They also have a little piggy bank at home for change. My 5-year-old totally gets this concept – even this past fall (when he was 4), he asked if we could go to the bank and get some money to buy a book at the school’s book fair. Then in December, he said to me that he didn’t have enough money in his piggy bank to go to the school store to buy something for his sister for x-mas and asked if we could go to the bank to get “a little bit of money”.

Heather C says:

I LOVE the Alexander book! My daughter, who is a great “spender” at the ripe old age of 16 (adopted at 13 ) really needs to read this. My other two who I have had from early on in life are both great savers. The 16 y/o I worry about…STILL teaching, but worry too.

Lolita says:

I write a check every time I pay for my kids’ field trips. That way I can track that I paid (cancelled check) and I don’t have to worry about the money disappearing without a trace!
In our house we do have piggy banks for each kid and help them decide if it is worth it to spend their money on something or if they would rather save that money towards something better. That is what we do with smaller amounts.

Christine says:

This is such an important lesson. I gave my kids (ages 14,12 and 10) a budget for back to school clothes this year. Best decision ever as it gave them the power to choose what they wanted to buy and prioritize their needs versus wants without arguing. I made a few recommendations but didn’t dictate what they bought. My 10 year old wanted shoes that would cost almost his whole budget but needed shorts. I told him it was his choice but suggested that if he waited a bit maybe the shoes would go on sale. He wanted the shoes “now” but decided to wait when he realized that he couldn’t afford cool shoes and cool shorts. After we left he started researching online for the best deal and found the same shoes for $30 less than he was going to pay leaving him enough budget to have shoes, shorts and and shirt all in his favorite brand just by watching sales and using coupons. It also taught him delayed gratification.

Crystalsnow says:

Lol my kids know me as the queen of finding deals, they know I don’t allow anything in the house that is full price, they scope out clearance sections, etc. even my 2 year old asks me “is this is on sale?” Before putting it in my cart at the grocery store or regular stores.

Lucy says:

my kiddos are the same way. when we’re at the store and they see something they want, they’ll ask if it’s on sale and I will take the item to scan – and they read the digits back to me when the price shows up on the screen.

thehenrydthoreau says:

I agree with you both from experience. The best tool is role modeling the behavior. My son is now 13 with over $1,000 to his name. He watched me yearly hit off season clearance paying from $.33 to $2.50 per clothing item. He observed me double and triple stacking. He joined in when the local grocery was bought out to resell. He bought View Master slides for $.25 a pack and resold them for $10/pack. He sees that he can earn way more in gross profit than leaving his money in a paltry interest earned savings account. He has seen stockpiling his whole life and embraced minimalism. He recently inquired if I would put a box together of shirts, shorts, underwear, shoes and socks to use when he is older. I picked up many sizes of underwear, tons of packs of socks and several shirts for free after free SYWR points. I got several sizes of shoes for $1/pair. I just picked up 2 pairs of shorts and 6 shirts for $.03 after clearance and SWYR points He tripled stacked himself last December. He used (2) $3 off Axe gift set coupons and 20% off cartwheel mixed with B1G1 25% off. He paid $3.06 per gift set. He gifted one last year and saved the second to gift this year. He paid for the sets using some of the profits from the View Master slide. He has a good balance on questioning wants and needs. I plan to work with him soon to understand that the more he spends (not only on needs but in general), the more he will have to work. He needs to embrace a more European lifestyle.

StephB says:

Thank you for all the great ideas!

We love Dave Ramsey and the financial freedom we have gained by using his methods and being disciplined!!! We only have our mortgage left to pay off.. which we will have paid off in 4 years and then we’ll be completely debt free! We love living on cash only.

We like to gift the college geared book/DVD (by Rachel Ramsey) for high school graduation gifts!

CO Mama says:

I do most my shopping online/Amazon & use Debit card. Then I pull cash from envelope to deposit when we withdrawal our cash for the next month. Hubby even travels regularly for work & never has never had an issue renting car or booking hotel with debit. Game changer for our family, such peace no more arguments about money.

Adrian says:

You should never shop online with a debit card. If something happens and hackers get your debit card information they can empty out your account before you know it. You will get your money back after a very thorough investigation which would take time and bills won’t stop coming while the investigation is done. If you use a credit card and hackers get your credit card information all you would have to do is notify your credit card issuer of the fraudulent charges. You won’t be on the hook for the fraudulent charges while the investigation is done. What I am trying to say is that debit card fraud will take your money away while it is investigated but with a credit card your money is safe. Hope that makes sense to you. A good thing to do is what Lucy said. Use a credit card for online shopping and pay it off at the end of the month. Sweeten up the deal by using a credit card that offers some kind of rewards like cash back just for using it. You get cash back for using the card and won’t have to pay any fees if you pay it off monthly.

Jen Law says:

You could always get a prepaid card that you budget for online purchases only. The thing with using credit cards is that things happen. What if you can’t pay it off at the end of the month for some reason? Then sometimes a cycle starts & it can get out of control. What I do if I sometimes use it online, is transfer only what I need on my debit card, & leave the rest in savings. Therefore, if they do get the card they’ll only get only a little. Also, make sure your bank has a great security firm. Someone tried to use my card in the Netherlands & it was declined the second they tried to use it. They then called me & texted me, which I hadn’t noticed at the time. When I didn’t answer they locked my card down. I was shopping at the time so it sucked, but I’d rather that than my money gone. They told me since they switched to this firm, they’ve only seen maybe a couple of cases where it actually went through, & even then it was taken care of quickly.

Lucy says:

I make all my purchases with my credit card and get points. I pay off my entire credit card balance every month. I don’t shop online at all – the only online purchases I make is on USPS to print the label to mail a package. I use coupons, stock-pile a reasonable amount of the things that we need. Truth be told, I only buy things that we NEED – just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean you have to buy it.

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